Footgear



Dec. l, 1942. M. JAcoBs 2,303,744

FOOTGEAR Filed Sept. 1l, 1941 we Arme/wry Patented Dec. 1, 1942 armani-gl .Foo'rcaaa Meuriee jambe, Jersey Cay, N. J. Appucaun september 11, 1941, serial No. 410,379

e claims. (ci. 3ra- 29) f1'. I

This' invention relates to new and useful improvemerits 4in`footge`ar and more particularly to the sole 'and heel structure thereof, having for its object' to provide a footgear which is highly resilient and shock absorbing; "blt is well knownthatthe rate of lfoot injuries tfp'arachutists is relatively' high dueto th'efact that the shock' resultingv from landing after jumping"frm'-a plane' orfdiri'gible, or in training-is quite severe, and; in orderto'prevent or reduce such injuries',various`types offootgear have been developed tot'ake up'the shock occasioned by the impact5'f Howevendue tothe overall weight limitations required for footgear. especially for use in cor'me'ctioi"withparachutetroops, the footgear heretofore developed has'not proven-successful in' nz'iterially reducing the rate of'injuries. One of thef'niain reasons for the failure of such footgear has lbe'enfthat the cushioning vor shock-absorbing properties offthefootgea'r were dependent entirely upon the 'resiliency'1 of the treading members 'or' contacting surfaces of the footgea'r. l'It is therefore one 4of the primary objects of the invention to overcome the deficiencies in foot'gear 'heretofore employed and to provide a footgear in which the'resiliency of the treading members 'or contacting surfaces of the same is only an incidental factor in the shock-absorbing action or cushioning properties of the footgear.

Another object of the invention is to provide footgea'r of this character in which the resilient contacting surface thereof is composed of a plurality of individually movable rubber cleats projecting outwardly from the under side of the footgear and cooperating at their inner ends 'with members which absorb the shock by being flexed or collapsed by the inward movement of the rnbber cleats.

The invention consists in a cushioning assembly embodying resilient means forming the contactin'gsurface of the assembly, and adapted to receive theimpact, said resilient means being movable as a result v fimpact and cooperating with collapsible means Awithin the assembly to take up the -shock created by' the impact. The invention consists also in' anyother no vel features hereinafter set-'forth in detail in the followingdescription, illustrated by wayof examples-inthe accompanying -drawing: and' more par:- ticularly pointed out in the appended claims. 'Referring fto 'the-drawing'inlwhich numerals Fig. 2 is a bottom view of :theheel'portioii of the footgear illustrated; in Fig. L'with certain parts broken away and insect'io'n",- Fig. 3 is a sectionalview n on'liies of Feig' 2; .t- Y

Fig. 4 is a detail viewl'ffofne resilient members and its associated" collapsible tube shown in Fig. 3 but showing said parts 2virlneigrsubje iiiz1 to an impact; "L i e" Fie 5 1S a View in Side?. vatios ola s oe' cluding an auxiliary sole'an el `;"each'e ing the cushioning assembly vo 'the prese verition: 'lLIf Fig. 6 is e bottom 'view ofthe nelportio or the shoe illustratedin Fie'.- .5'

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary sectional' lines 1--1 of Fig.6 f f Fig. 8 is a detail plan view of the collapsible means, and I 'I f Fig. 9 is a sementi-detail of apertio'n'of cushioning assembly'in acordance'-vvith thel'in.; vention forming a resilientsu'pprt il'be'aring.

In the drawing, referring:mreparticularlyfto Fig. 1, the footge'ar' therein illustrated consists of a slipper or overshoe |0 adaptedtfobeWin over an ordinary boot or shoe andembodiesa separate cushioning assembly lin 'the soleportion H and heel portion i2 thereof. For this .pur-f pose, the sole and heel portions areeachprovided with a cavity I3'to accommodate the collapsible members i4 of the cushioning assembly, which members are in the form o f cylinders or tubes of rubber or other suitable material'arranged in spaced relation to one anotherjandv joined together by webs l5 to forma unitary structure. The upper portion of each 'cavity lltV is closed by the usual inner-sole or innerlinin'giS Whichjeir-r tends across the top' faceof the sole' and heel portions of the footgear 1 0...

As clearly shown in Fig. 'tiiebottomofeacli cavity la 1s provided with-aplurautyjor recesses IT arranged in'rows, in alignment Wlfhhe 'G01-' lapsible members I4 toacommod'at the en'. larged heads 8 of`bearin gl members Shanks project outwardly through rediic l pen.- ings 2 0 in the bottomv of the'sole' and` tions Il and l2, irespectively', and form the'actual ground-engaging fsur'face `of the footgearl. bearing members!!! 'are `composed"'of'rb oi; othersuitable resilientmatei'ial and are m able axially. I'IthIWC 4 n" b.

members I9 of each cushioning assembly receive the impact and the resulting shock is absorbed through the collapsible members I4 which are flexed by the bearing members moving inwardly as a result of the impact.. By forming the collapsible members I4 of suitable materials having different degrees of resiliency or flexibility, or closing the ends of said members and providing check valves therein, the rate of collapse of said members can be varied to suit different conditions.

In other words, for footgear employed for ordinary purposes, the collapsible members I4 may be composed of relatively soft rubber so that the members I4 will collapse when the bearing members IS are subjected to a relatively small impact.

On the other hand, where the footgear is to be used by soldiers, more particularly parachute troops, the collapsible members I4 may be composed of relatively hard rubber or other material possessing relatively low resiliency or any known means may be provided for reducing the rate of collapse of the collapsible members to take care of the heavier burden.

It will also be observed that by reason of the fact that the bearing members I 9 are individually movable axially in their respective openings 20, they will adapt themselves to any unevenness or irregularities on the surface with which the footgear comes in contact so that there is always a balanced footing regardless of any projections or depressions in the walking or landing surface. In other words, on a flat surface, the bearing members IS coming in contact therewith will be subjected to the same impact and each will be moved inwardly an equal extent so that all will bear with the same amount of pressure against the associated collapsible members I4. For an uneven surface, such for example as one having bulges or depressions therein, the bearing members of that portion or of those portions of the footgear first coming in contact with the highest point or points of said uneven surface will be moved inwardly a greater extent than the remaining bearing members so that the former will exert a greater pressure and flex their associated collapsible members a greater degree than the latter bearing members,

Instead of being embodied in the footgear as above described, cushioning assemblies may be formed as an auxiliary sole and heel IIa and I2a, respectively, as shown in Figs. 5 to 8, adapted to be secured to the sole 24 and heel 25, respectively, of an ordinary shoe 26, and for this purpose, the cushioning assemblies are provided with holes tted with bushings 28 through which the nails 2T employed to secure the assemblies to the shoe are adapted to extend, one end of the bushings forming a limiting shoulder for the head of the nails and the other end being flanged and forming an abutment for engagement with the under side of the shoe 26. Thus, when the cushioning assemblies are nailed in place, the bushings 28 will prevent compression of the material in the auxiliary sole and heel into the cavities I3a thereof, which otherwise would flex or partly collapse the collapsible members I4a therein.

While I have shown and described the invention in connection with footgear, obviously the same may be applied to other uses such for example as a resilient support illustrated as an example in Fig. 9, in which the cushioning assembly is interposed between a base member 30 and a member 3I being supported. In this installation any vibrations occurring in either the base member 30 or the member 3l being supported will be taken up or absorbed by the tubular members I4a of the cushioning assembly by virtue of the fact that such vibrations will be translated into axial movement of the bearing members I9a which axial movement will act on the collapsible members I4a in the manner previously described.

From the foregoing it is believed that the construction and advantages of my invention may be readily understood by those skilled in the art Without further description, it being borne in mind that numerous changes may be made in the details disclosed without departing from the spirit of the invention as set out in the following claims.

What I claim is:

1. The combination with a member presenting a plane surface adapted to be subjected to an impact; of longitudinally extending tubular collapsible means in said member parallel to the plane surface of the latter for absorbing the shock created by an impact, and resilient means slidably mounted in said member and projecting outwardly therefrom to form an impact receiving surface, said resilient means being movable inwardly in said member upon receiving an impact and cooperating with said collapsible means to collapse the latter, whereby the shock created by the impact is taken up by said collapsible means.

2. A footgear comprising in combination, sole and heel portions, each provided with a cavity conforming substantially to the contour thereof, a plurality of tubular collapsible members in each cavity, s aid sole and heel portions having openings extending from the bottom of the respective cavity to the undersurfaces of said portions and arranged in rows in alignment with said tubular collapsible members, and a plurality of resilient members slidably mounted in said openings and normally projecting outwardly a predetermined distance from the undersurface of said sole and heel portions to form impact receiving faces, said resilient members cooperating with said tubular collapsible members, whereby when said resilient members are subjected to impact and are moved inwardly, they will collapse said tubular col-l lapsible members to absorb the shock created by; the impact.

3. A cushioning assembly for footgear or the like comprising a body member on the underside of the footgear provided with a recessed portion along its inner surface forming a cavity, said body member being provided with a plurality of openings extending-from the outer surface thereof to the bottom of said cavity, a plurality of resilient tread members extending through said openingsvand projecting outwardly from the underside of said'body member, said tread members being movable axially in said openings, and a plurality of tubular collapsible members in said cavity in alignment with said tread members and adapted to be collapsed by said tread mer.. bers upon inward movement of the latter occe sioned by impact, to absorb the shock created by the impact against said tread members.

4. A cushioning assembly comprising in combination. a body member provided with a cavity, a plurality of tubular collapsible members in said Cavity arranged in spaced relation to one another, a webbing of flexible material connecting said members together to form a unitary structure conforming substantially to the shape of the cavity, said body member being provided with a plurality of openings extending from the outer surface thereof to said cavity, the inner ends of said openings terminating in enlarged recesses countersunk in one side of said cavity, a plurality of resilient bearing members having enlarged heads disposed in said enlarged recesses and having shanks extending through said openings and projecting outwardly a predetermined distance beyond the outer surface of said body member to form impact receiving surfaces, said bearing members being individually movable in their respective openings and the enlarged heads thereof cooperating with said collapsible members to collapse the latter upon inward move'ment of said bearing members.

5. A cushioning assembly for footgear and the like, comprising an auxiliary sole member adapted to bev secured to the sole of the footgear and provided with a cavity recessed inwardly from the top surface thereof, said cavity conforming substantially to the contour of said auxiliary sole member, a plurality of tubular collapsible rubber members in said cavity arranged in spaced relation to one another, a at webbing of'rubber joining said collapsible rubber members together. said auxiliary sole member being provided with a series of openings extending from the bottom of said cavity to the undersurface of said sole member, said openings being arranged in rows in alignment with said collapsible rubber members,

and solid rubber members extending upwardly through said openings and projecting a predetermined distance beyond the undersurface of said auxiliary sole member to form impact receiving surfaces, said solid rubber members being movable axially in said openings and being moved inwardly upon receiving an impact to cooperate with said collapsible members to collapse the latter, whereby the shock is absorbed by said collapsible members.

6. A heel structure for footgear comprising a body member adapted to be secured to the heel base of the footgear, said body member being provided with a cavity recessed inwardly from the top surface thereof and with a series of open` ings extending from said cavity to the undersurface of said body member, collapsible tubular members in said cavity arranged in spaced relation to one another, a flat webbing of rubber joining said tubular members together, said series of openings being arranged in rows in alignment with said tubular members, and solid rubber members slidably mounted in said openings and projecting a predetermined distance beyond vMAURICE JACOBS. 

